The Black Art Project, with a focus on the visual arts, is an evolving multi-faceted series of collective projects that together will present solid, verifiable documentation of the contributions of Black art and artists in the overall body of American art.

BAP Booklists

Monday, December 20, 2010

Reading Scene 1

Kinsey, Bernard and Shirley Kinsey. The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect. Los Angeles: The Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for Arts and Education, 2009.

This 154 page catalogue, The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect, accompanies an exhibition with the same name. It presents, in historical perspective, the story of the African American experience from 1632 - present; the story speaks through original art, historical artifacts, and documents. Because it presents stories of African American achievement and contributions through art, documents, memorabilia, as well as other ephemera, it makes an excellent teaching tool, gift, or resource for personal discovery and inspiration. The Foreword, written by Douglas A. Blackmon, author of Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, presented a wonderful back story of how Blackmon and Kinsey were connected through a 1903 letter featured in Blackmon's book. The letter was from Carrie Kinsey to President Theodore Roosevelt, describing how her 14-year-old brother had been kidnapped and sold into slavery.

The catalogue is divided into sections, focusing on aspects of the African American experience. Each section is highlighted with appropriate documents, artifacts, ephemera, and art to tell its story. Some of the sections featured include: Slavery, African Americans and War, Forging Freedom, The Birth of an Aesthetic, A New Generation of Masters, and etc.

This family's story, which is told through their collection and the essays written by each family member (Bernard, Shirley, and Khalil), reflects a rich cultural and historical heritage that the family is preserving for future generations.

The exhibition, The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect, will be on display in National Museum of African American History and Culture's gallery at the National Museum of American History (Washington, DC) through May 1, 2011. To purchase a copy of the catalogue, visit the museum store or order here.